The gate structure, seen to the left, exposed at Tel Lachish National Park. (Guy Fitoussi, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)
An ancient city gate and shrine that King Hezekiah ordered to be destroyed during the eighth century B.C., according to the Hebrew Bible, are seeing the light of day following an excavation in Israel, archaeologists reported.
The so-called gate-shrine is likely evidence of actions taken by King Hezekiah, the 12th king of Judea, to abolish idols, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). Hezekiah's father, Ahaz, was known as a godless man, and as soon as Hezekiah ascended the throne, he ordered the destruction of all of the false idols (objects, other deities or animals that people worshipped) in the kingdom, according to Chabad.org, a website on Judaism.
In the Hebrew Bible, a verse explains how "He [Hezekiah] removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles [associated with a sacred goddess]…" (II Kings 18:4), the IAA said.
Sprawling gate
The gate is located in the ancient city of Tel Lachish within an 80-by-80-foot six-chambered area, with three chambers on each side and the city's main street passing between them, the IAA said.
The northern section of the gate was unearthed decades ago by an expedition led by archaeologists from the United Kingdom and Tel Aviv University. The latest excavation, which took place from January to March 2016, focused on uncovering the entire gate, the IAA said.
The excavation was no small task, as the gate is the largest one in Israel dating back to the First Temple period, a time when the kingdom used the temple built by King Solomon, the IAA said.
"The size of the gate is consistent with the historical and archaeological knowledge we possess," Sa'ar Ganor, an excavation director with the Israel Antiquities Authority, said in a statement. According to biblical narrative, "everything took place" at the gates of the ancient city of Tel Lachish, where the gate-shrine was originally built, the IAA said.
High-ranking people — including city elders, judges, governors, kings and officials — would sit on the benches by the city gate, and "these benches were found in our excavation," Ganor said.
Moreover, the new discovery illustrates "how biblical tales that are known to us become historical and archaeological stories" as research progresses, said Ze'ev Elkin, who serves as minister of Jerusalem affairs and heritage and environmental protection as well as a member of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.
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